This invention relates generally to information retrieval in a computer network. More particularly, it relates to an improved method for providing a set of bookmarks in a browser for retrieving Web pages in an Internet environment.
It is well known to couple a plurality of computer systems into a network of computer systems. In this way, the collective resources available within the network may be shared among users, thus allowing each connected user to enjoy resources which would not be economically feasible to provide to each user individually. With the growth of the Internet, sharing of computer resources has been brought to a much wider audience. The Internet has become a cultural medium in today""s society for both information and entertainment. Government agencies employ Internet sites for a variety of informational purposes. For many companies, one or more Internet sites are an integral part of their business; these sites are frequently mentioned in the companies"" television, radio and print advertising.
The World Wide Web, or simply xe2x80x9cthe Webxe2x80x9d, is the Internet""s multimedia information retrieval system. It is the most commonly used method of transferring data in the Internet environment. Other methods exist such as the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Gopher, but have not achieved the popularity of the Web. Client machines accomplish transactions to Web servers using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which is a known application protocol providing users access to files, e.g., text, graphics, images, sound, video, using a standard page description language known as the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML provides basic document formatting and allows the developer to specify xe2x80x9clinksxe2x80x9d to other servers and files. In the Internet paradigm, a network path to a server is identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) having a special syntax for defining a network connection.
Retrieval of information is generally achieved by the use of an HTML-compatible xe2x80x9cbrowserxe2x80x9d, e.g., Netscape Navigator, at a client machine. When the user of the browser specifies a link via a URL, the client issues a request to a naming service to map a host name in the URL to a particular network IP address at which the server is located. The naming service returns a list of one or more IP addresses that can respond to the request. Using one of the IP addresses, the browser establishes a connection to a server. If the server is available, it returns a document or other object formatted according to HTML. Web browsers have become the primary interface for access to many network and server services.
The entry of the URL in the entry field of a browser can be a difficult task for many users. While the URL for the main Web page of a major company can be relatively brief, e.g., www.ibm.com, subsidiary pages can have very lengthy URLs in, at least to the average user, an arcane syntax. Recognizing the difficulties involved, the developers of browsers have provided one useful means of returning to a favorite URL, by the creation of user stored xe2x80x9cbookmarksxe2x80x9d in the browser.
Once created, bookmarks offer a means of page retrieval. The user can cause the browser to display his bookmark list and select among his bookmarks to go directly to a favorite page. Thus, the user is not forced to enter a lengthy URL nor retrace the original tortuous route through the Internet by which he may have arrived at the Web site. Once a bookmark is added to a bookmark list, in general, the bookmark becomes a permanent part of the browser until removed. The permanence and accessibility of bookmarks have made them a valuable means for personalizing a user""s Internet access through the browser.
One problem which bookmarks do not currently address is that for a user to look at a set of related web pages a great deal of manual interaction with the browser is required. The user must manually select and possibly enter URLs for each of the related web pages. Usually, the user browses each of the pages serially in time in the single browser window. This makes it difficult to remember what one read, or where one read it, by the end of the session. It is possible to invoke multiple browser windows, however, this also requires substantial user interaction with the browser. Given the amount of manual activity required on the part of the user, it is easy to lose one""s train of thought.
These problems as well as others are addressed in various embodiments of the present invention.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to improve the use of bookmarks in the browser.
It is another object of the invention to use a bookmark set for a given client browser to concurrently initiate request for multiple related web pages.
It is another object of the invention to minimize the amount of manual entry required on the part of the user.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by concurrently displaying a set of bookmarked web pages in a browser interface. A list of bookmarks in the interface, each bookmark associated with a respective one of the web pages. At least a subset of the web pages are displayed in a cascade of windows, each web page assigned to a respective window in the cascade in the order in which the associated bookmark is listed in the list of bookmarks. Each window in the cascade is arranged so that a title bar is visible and the alphanumeric content of the title bar can be easily related to an entry in the bookmark list.